Elfen's Shorts for White Rose Week
by elfenlied1012
Summary: A series of white rose short shorts based on the prompts by The Heart Alchemists White Rose Week on tumblr. Each short takes on a different theme, many from A.U.s like the Vale series or modern settings or even cannon lore, but all dealing with the ship that brought me into fanfiction writing. White Rose.
1. Chapter 1

**Protection**

 **Weiss laments the one thing she can't protect her wife from, the past. White Rose Week starts off with Angst in the post canon. Rated T**

 **Weiss Schnee**

Nothing's ever made me feel more grossly impotent than Ruby's grief. Wolves and winter winds, summer swells and grim serpent, murderers and the morose, I can protect against all of that. I know how, I trained in it, I graduated in it. Before I killed stocks, I was first and foremost a hunter of aberrations and threats to humanity. Feeling totally at a loss against a foe is not normal.

"Hiya mom."

It's horrifying.

"Sorry for not visiting in a while, we were busy making a baby. Man that was hard work for weiss. Aren't you glad you only had to carry me? Yang and I were like a two for one deal! Guess I got your luck too."

Didn't matter that Ruby was in her twenties, if it's Summer's birthday, it's time to come to bury her all over again. I had a feeling I'd still be visiting my estranged mother-in-law with Ruby until we were far older than she ever got to be.

"I figured you'd want to meet your brand new granddaughter, right from the factory." She always stands before her on the cliff's edge, hood in the wind vibrant as the green of the rose graveyard.

"Do not refer to my womb as a factory or I promise you the _whole district_ will be on strike for a very long time." I rarely intrude, it feels...blasphemous, but whenever I can hear her voice being squeezed, her body being tugged by the weight of a dead woman's corpse, I just need to. I want to hear her life, see her smile. I want to end her pain, I want to heal her.

Ruby gifts me a forced chuckle and it hurts.

"Weiss came too, she's always dotting on me, and I'm not even the one that had to carry this sucker around for 10 months. I think she's going to friggen lose it when it's my turn. Could you imagine?" Yang tells me that if I had ever known Summer, my mother-in-law Summer, she would have adored me. Taiyang said I would have been her dream wife for Ruby. "So yeah, here she is, she's being sleepy. Say hello to Summer mom." I find that on days like this. I hate both my mothers.

"She's got our eyes! Weiss' hair tho, she's legit like the prettiest baby on the planet, I just love her so much. You'd die if you saw her, you know if you weren't...yeah."

I know it's super immature of me too. She didn't do anything to Ruby, by all accounts she was the ideal mother. Yang, not even her birth daughter, describes her as a saint. She died a huntress, she died insuring a world where my daughter can grow up in relative safety. She built our futures with her blood. But I hate her, I hate her for hurting Ruby, I hate her for making me feel so absolutely inept.

"Hey Sweetheart?" It shocks me sometimes, when the light shatters on Ruby's face at just the right angle, when I can see perfectly the sweetness of her tired, battle tested smile, where I can see how long the crimson tips of her hair have gotten as they flow over her shoulders. The looks she gives me now with silver eyes circled in red, watery with the old grief ridden tears of someone who wants nothing more than to see her mommy and show her what she's made. She's absolutely stunning.

"Yes Ruby?" I nearly stutter while she waves me over.

"Come on, I wanna show her what an awesome family we've made." I take to her immediately. Her arms are tied up holding our daughter's sleepy and slightly chubby body. Ruby leans into my stiff shoulder and my hand jerks up around her. I'm on edge at this lonesome cemetery, completely the opposite of my wife.

"We got the whole shebang." I read the words of the famous poem, _thus kindly I scatter huh?_ I selfishly wish my mother-in-law would. I'm so helpless against her. Possibly the richest woman in the world, master hunter, maiden of winter, governess of Roseland, yet I cower before the shadow of Summer here at the cliff at the end of the world.

"Thanks for always coming with me." She snaps me from my malaise with a cheeky grin marred by sad eyes. She leans even farther into me, ignoring that I am both lighter and shorter than her. I have a hard time resisting.

"It's the least I can do." I offer no protection from the past. I'm just another shoulder here.

"Weiss," she says with a deep sigh of relief, "it's I need."

 ** ***** Howdy! So this is part of the White Rose Week hosted by The Heart Alchemist on Tumblr. Every day this week I'll post another short short about the two with the day's theme as the title. This week was protection! Most of these exist in the Summer's Vale A.U. cause it's fun, and because I can. Some of these will be longer some shorter, but considering I got a week to do this, not that long. Tomorrow's First Date so see you then!****


	2. Chapter 2

**First Date**

 **Weiss Schnee**

Sands that burns and peels skin at the touch shift for eons in either direction, barren of any life. The only border to it is another hell, toxic water that's filled with any manner of beasts both slimey and grimm. Even what plant life gathering will cling to my skin and send shivers up whatever poor limb its grasp. That is if I even survive the trek towards the water. The sun's high in the sky now, the beating summer rays are a deadly radiation beam cooking all alive if their lucky, and killing them slowly if their not. The only respite is a shifting spot of shade below a lone umbrella, it's shadow getting stretched thinner and thinner by the hour.

"Weiss, oh my god is this heat stroke?" Ruby peers into view, her own body immune to the hell of Valen Summer heatwaves. Her skin actually tans, _tans._ Somehow she can toil away in a bikini with only the faintest protection given by a half inch of red embroidery around the edges. I had to insist before she would even put on sunscreen.

The heat is so unbearable and my jealousy of her growing golden tan so strong, It takes a few seconds for the gears in my head to shift and the realization she's even talking to me to click.

"What no?" I lurch back into my fetal radiation resistant ball I've been hiding in to escape the sun with an umbrella above, a cooler to my right and a nice Schnee logoed towel to rest my butt on, lest the sand scorch the skin right off the cheeks. "I was lost in watching you play volleyball."

Couples game, except half of one couple is much more comfortable spectating. Ruby has super speed she doesn't need me flailing around.

"Yeah I dropped out, though the my sisters still at it. Did you see her spike me in the face?"

"Ruby your face!" She shifted position and I can see the red blemish right on the side of her swollen nose. God I really am an abysmal date, I don't even notice when my partner for the afternoon takes a shock to the skull.

"You sure you don't have heat stroke? Maybe dunk your head in the cooler just in case?" Ruby stares at me as worried as I am back. Her idea does have some merit, however undignified.

"No I'm surviving thank you. Do you want an ice pack for your nose?"

"Yeah probably," I hear the thud of her body hit the beach sands as she takes the spot next to me on the towel, previously reserved for everyones shoes and various suncare products, all of which I need. "It could swell up and then I'd get even more nasally. I'll become a cartoon character, ohhh, maybe I have a future on TV Weiss." Ruby sounds just as lovely to me as ever, like a chipper bird in the morning, one I use to want to snap the neck of.

"Here. It'll have to do. I'm sorry to postpone your cinematic career."

I hand her over a pineapple soda, the highest sugar content ice pack to ever find a home on a woman's face.

"It's fine, I doubt voice actress is exactly the kind of socially dignified career you're looking for in a partner anywho."

Ruby's voice cracks on the word partner, the meanings kinda changed lately hasn't it? Despite the confession, and the date, we've maintained our banter. Something I find precious and irreplaceable. I worried most about losing Ruby the friend when I got Ruby the date. My fears don't feel as founded lately.

"Huntress is more likely to get my attention. I was never really allowed to watch cartoons anyways. I'd miss all your performances." Still our back and forth doesn't stop it from getting awkward at times. This new thick fog of pretense can choke me up.

"Weiss, are you not having fun?" Didn't stop Ruby from knifing right through it though. I'm finding the frayed short sleeves of my blue jacket so interesting all of a sudden.

"No, it's not that." _That still implies it's something though dounce. Clear your head Weiss._

She leans into the personal bubble I so tirelessly maintain with barely a pinky length between the tips of our noses. I can't take her seriously with aluminum pressed to her face. She's such a cute fool.

"I know we decided on a double date, but if Yang and Blake are kind of ruining the mood we I don't mind taking a walk with you." Spring, Fall, winter, any other time I might have walked with her up and down the coastline until my feet went bloody, but not in this god awful heat. "Or we could swim out and have loads of space. I promise no dunking you under water!"

"I'm not quite up to swimming today, I'm enjoying simply being with everyone." What I am doing is being a horrendous date. It's my fault for wanting to keep it a mystery, especially in Ruby's hands. Oh hell, can't a girl dream of one day having some spectacular day planned just for her? Was I so wrong?

 _Ugh, you could have just warned her about the sun._

"If you didn't wanna swim why did you bring a bathing suit?" A beautiful white two piece with snowy blue patterns and a skirt style bottom. One of my favorites. I was excited to see how well it'd slay Ruby today. It did well until we actually _got_ to the beach.

"I thought…." I let out a warm and irritated sigh, more at my own daft assumption than hers. "I thought when you said to bring a bathing suit we were going to like an indoor pool or something." Indoor pools, as in not at the mercy of that ever too close flaming death orb.

"Oh…" Ruby tumbled backwards onto the ground, stretching all her limbs and letting the red and black weave of her hair mix with the sand. This is her admitting defeat. "Wait why would we go to a pool, the beach is like twenty minutes from the school?"

I feel utterly embarrassed and just a teaspoon of shamed, a traditional batch that sends a rage through me and colors my already sunstruck cheeks even redder.

"I don't know Ruby, I'm from Atlas! You know where it's snowing all year long and every open space wants to kill you!?" _Weiss calm down, you're being bitchy._ "In Atlas, if you're swimming you're going to enjoy a nice pool or maybe a hot spring."

Ruby doesn't take it too harshly. I can see her start to do some calculations in her head. Maybe a change of venue? "I don't think we have hot springs."

Again, I find myself sighing.

"Vale is not fit for human settlement, I swear."

"Still there's nothing unsafe about the waves here, it's a ton of fun! I should know I was raised on an Island after all." Ruby pats my exposes knee and I see that gleam of mischief shine in her silver eyes. "Unless...is someone afraid of open water?" She snaps back up from the sand right into my face. Every move she makes is so exaggerated, it's like I'm dating a living version of Blake's comics. "Is that why you use to like Neptune? Phobia-buddies?" I don't know why she feels to need to whisper regarding a two year out of date crush.

"Ugh, no. I'm not some spineless welp scared of something so trivial. I use to run laps up and down my family pool for extra cardio once a week! I would have done more if chlorine wasn't so cruel to my hair."

"Then why do you hate the beach that much? Sand? You seemed fine in Vacuo." I was not _fine_ in Vacuo.

Once again, that inner churn of embarrassment. I've never been one to divulge weaknesses like this.

"I um, you see Ruby. I'm just a little photosensitive."

"You're worried about photos?"

"No!" that shout gets her to lurch a little back. "I'm very light complected. Atlas doesn't get a lot of sun, so I have to take extra steps to protect my skin." It's such a minor issue, but it leaves me feeling so infantile. Just being outside destroys me, how pathetic is that? "I burn easy, actually I already got a sunburn on my cheeks."

"You're under an umbrella." Ruby's staring at me with wide blinking eyes like I just told her I'm her long lost twin.

"You know, from the walk here after the airbus dropped us off…" She keeps staring, my cheeks are so red. "Okay you don't under-"

"Oh gezz...I trapped you into a death cage…" Ruby whispers her confession and her mouth peels back into the most horrified frown, like you'd see on a man that just committed murder. "What have I done."

Now I just feel bad. "It's fine, they're liking it." Yang's happily encasing Blake in a Sand coffin shaped after her. The boobs are a bit larger though...comically larger…

"This was suppose to be _our_ big first date though." Ruby grumbles and collapses on my shoulder, ignoring the weird texture and smell of sunscreen splattered skin.

"I mean technically it still is." I'm horrendous at cheering her up. "And, aside from the solar issues, Vale's beach can be very beautiful, in it's own way. And I'm the unquestionable queen of the cooler." That gets a giggle out of her at least and I feel better. To prove my contentment, I crack open my own matching soda can. "Cheers." I tap it against the one she's holding to her eye.

"Sorry this all kind of sucks, where do you wanna go after? Early dinner on me?" Her voice bounces back from depression in that patented elastic Ruby way.

"You know," I swallow a few zips to clear my hesitant throat, "Sitting here with you isn't so bad." That earns a smile, glad to see it. And again, I see that same planning glint in her eyes just out of the corner of my vision.

"Put your head here." She pats her lap for emphasis, and I glare at her in suspicion.

"Why?"

"Just trust me."

I groan, "Fine," but I do it after a hard few gulps of my drink to quench a tired throat.

I don't know what I imagined, that makes it sound so pervy, but yes imagined what Ruby's thighs would feel like, but I'm surprised how soft they are against my stinging cheeks despite the sand grains I know i'm going to regret getting into my hair. It's warm, but not unpleasant, very much not unpleasant. I know i'm blushing and it burns my cooked skin. I don't know what I'm suppose to do and that's just making the blushing worse.

"Close your eyes," she asks in a sing songy voice ruining me.

"Do anything inappropriate and I will end you." My eyes flutter shut, my vision turning to a plochy light pink with nothing else but feeling.

"Weiss just keep them closed and chill." I feel her aluminum ice pack on my forehead providing gentle counterweight to the warmth of her legs. It was a mixture that immediately began pulling me down into a relaxing abyss. Sleepy.

"It feels nice out nice in the shade, you can hear the ocean." Ruby reminds me in a whispering voice, and suddenly like magic I can. "We can talk like this or maybe take a nap and just enjoy today."

"Your date plan is to have me lay in your lap while you push sodas onto my face?" I chastise with a smile.

"Can you just relax for once?""

"I am." Drifting off as well. The water, the cold can, the laughter of Yang and Blake in the background, the way Ruby's fingers are tracing my stomach in sweet lines while keeping my head nestled against her. How could I not be entranced by this lullaby?

"Good. Nothing wrong with a good nap for a first date."

"You're an idiot." This is barely a date. I can't wait to plan the next one. I can't wait for all of them.

"But you're relaxed aren't you?"

I nod.

"Not so bad," I hear her whisper.

 ***** Well that was longer than I expected! First date was a rough one, I've written a hand full of dates between them both in the Vale series and several AUs. I didn't want to do a rewrite of the first date from the kind of Vale canon Snowy Vale, so this one's more set after the events of the show. Anyways next one is domestic and we're heading back into the vale vs to see Ruby and Weiss be parents! See you tomorrow!**


	3. Chapter 3

**Domestic**

 **Ruby Rose**

"You what?" Weiss hushed a shriek, the flagrant aggravation throbbing against her temple. Her chests puffed up, struggling against the restrictive women's black business jacket she wore for video meetings, (ignoring her wife and kids on their winter getaway Ruby might add).

"Listen, Jaune's meeting with some officials here and well Pyrrha started feeling sick again, so I offered to handle the twins." I reach out for her, grasping her hands to do my best sweet talking. I find anything I say gets a little more impact if I gently rub those soft palms of hers with my thumbs. Gotta kneed the frustration out of her like bread.

"I didn't!" Doesn't always work.

I tilt my head and give my widest apologetic grin. I mouth the words sorry over and over as we both know it's too late. Rouge and Odysseus were already here quietly waiting in the livingroom, though quietly with children is only ever a factor of time.

"Why do you do this to me?" Weiss asked her fury boiling down to an exasperated retreat.

"You know me, bite off more than I can chew, then chew some more." I move from her palms to her shoulders, their so balled up from stressed, my poor little weiss. "Come on, they're cute, I know you love cute things."

"I already have four cute things," she whines like our dog Drei, one of the legendary four. It's sweet that I'm on the list, assuming we didn't have a third kid while I wasn't looking. "And all of them are loud enough as is."

"Pfft, lies, Azura's essentially a ninja in training and Summer's probably too busy trying to ride Drei like a horse. I'm the only loud cute thing here and that's just because _someone_ doesn't give me enough attention."

She growls back at me, but I know my silly teasing always gets Weiss back to lively.

"Give me just a two hour of silence, I need to finish automating the Roseland wall, we're talking the fate of thousands of new settlers here." Roseland, the biggest and brightest Schnee pet project ever, and Weiss' future legacy. Decently important.

"You have an hour, it's not gonna fall if you take time to eat my brownies."

"You're making brownies?" She side eyes me with way more suspicion than is warranted.

"WIth cookie dough mixed in~" I've been trying to recreate my mother's recipe from when I was my own pintsized problem child. It's also perfect kid wrangling food when I got four of the little things running around. "I'm not totally just wild mom, queen of the hunt, I can be all maternal and whatever sometimes."

"Fine, just, please I don't want the union furious with me." At the rate she pays them, the Faunus Construction Labour Union would sooner kiss her than strike. I suppose it's healthier to be more afraid of workers as opposed to taking the support for granted. Weiss' quiet considerations for the small stuff was one of a billion traits Ruby loved about her.

"Sure, but you should probably move your butt, timer already ticking Weiss." I punctuate with a gentle adjustment of her tie. She rewards my hand with a gentle slap. Her pony tail whips as she turns around to march right into our vacation home office. "Oh Weiss, you're shirts untucked in the back."

"What?" She stops to check the hem of her dress shirt and finds everything in order.

"Gotcha nerd," I mumbled as I kiss her exposed check. Her head throbs in frustration, that looks like victory to me.

"I am absolutely through with you."

Her feet thud on the glossy hardwood floor of their winter home as she hid herself in the study. A glass encased library with a single desk that was never meant to be an office, but just as snow falls, Weiss throws every ounce of herself at something.

"Alright Azura," Ruby twirled around, hand on her hip and other hand pointed right at the child peeking at her in the dining room corner, hiding between some overpriced wood monsters the used as chairs. "You're ganna stop staring at mama and help me welcome the guests, 'kay?"

My youngest's response was an irritated chirp as she sucked on the cloth of her blue cape she got, or more accurately demanded we give her earlier this year. Now she chews on it. "I'm just ganna go with yes."

I scoop her up and push the worries about her speech difficulties as far down as I can, but with a reminder to myself to be more talkative, encourage vocality. _Weiss you too._

"Summer where are you!" I call into the depths of our vacation home echoing within the guests rooms, many more than what could ever be considered rational. God my father-in-law believed in excess. If only he spent as much time loving his daughters as he did on showing off wealth we might have had a much cleaner, and hopefully longer, relationship.

"I'm here!" I can see her. I can see her at the hallways end, little Summer's silver head tilting out into the living room to glare, her trusted steed, the corgi Drei nuzzling against the legs of her white sundress. She's examining the twins.

"Hi baby, did you meet your cousins?" Not really her cousins, but after everything we've been through, Jaune _is_ my brother. I rub her tiny shoulder as I approach, making my oldest daughter jump as Azura sleepily clings to my chest like a sloth."You two this is Rouge and Odysseus. Rouge Odysseus this is Summer and this little monkey is Azura!"

The twins are shockingly well behaved considering their linage, but I suppose that's the Pyrrha in them. Unsurprisingly they were nearly mirrors of one another, baring Odysseus' longer hair, he apparently cries whenever Pyrrha cuts it. Both have fire colored locks and their father's blue eyes, both tall of their age but not sharing one similarity in mannerism or personality.

Rouge's playing with Summer's toy swords, likely earning her heated ire, especially smashing them around like that. Odysseus on the other hand is reserved for a six year old. He stands waiting for me, arms behind his back and eyes on my daughter.

"Mom, he won't stop staring at me…" Summer grumbles reading my mind. I smile and pat her back. I'm about to tell her not to fret, that he just wants to be friends like everyone at that age, but Odysseus starts without me.

"I'm not!" He shouts, face a little red from embarrassment, "You just got really pretty hair." He mumbles his confession and it gets me to laugh. I can tell he's genuine, silver hairs rare enough, I'm not surprised my little Summer's a source of admiration. However, she seems pretty shocked, her fair skins pink as bubblegum and I'm laughing even harder.

"You wanna fight!" Summer yelps out running over to her toybox of foam weapons. Solving even embarrassment with violence, she is a huntress' daughter for sure.

"What?" Odysseus says, eyes losing focus as he tried to follow the plot in his head.

"Oh hell ya, lets beat the pants out of her!" Rouge's already on board. Of course.

"I'm gonna kick the crud out of you!" Summer pulls out her largest toy sword from the box, knocking it over and spilling a mess of dolls, puzzles and building blocks onto the fine carpet of course.

"We shouldn't fight," Odysseus argues as Rouge shoves a foam bat into his hands.

"You scared Odyssa-chicken!" With jokes like that, I'm really reassured I've done my job as a mom.

"No! I just don't wanna get called a bully for beating you." Odysseus finally takes the bat with a smile on his face. Some of the fire from his hairs jump to his eyes and I regret not listening to Pyrrha. The twins are quite competitive.

"Please don't play to hard and keep out of the office Sumner okay?"

I sigh as I watch them uselessly whack each other with essentially pillows. Their impotence at actually hurting anyone is kind of why they bought her so many, but it didn't stop them from dodging and wailing about. Summer's outnumbered, but older and obsessed with swords. An even match if you could call it a match at all as they stumble and swing. I'm really happy the sliding door to the kitchen lets me keep on eye on them even after I walk out on the three to focus on snack prep. "Come on Azura, let's leave the silly ones to their games.

Summer jumps onto the couch for higher ground and I'm super thankful we thought ahead and took out any breakable pots or decorations from the living room _before_ we brought over her toys.

"Wanna help mommy mix?" I ask azura once were inside the bedroom sized kitchen. The sliding wall gives me a view of the kids while a glass window above them lets in all the natural light we could want. My bowl is already loaded with the coco mix, eggs, and all other manner of goods. I just need a helpful little girl and Azura provides. She takes pride in standing by our brownie bowl and using all her weight to shift around my wooden spoon. It's fucking adorable.

"You're doing fabulously sweetie." I tell her from the cabinets, taking out the six plates we need, disgusting goddy things with gold inlay I can only hope is paint. As soon as I close the darkwood cabinet doors, I feel Azura looking at me.

"Mommies g-ganna eat too?" Azura stutters a little, but speaks. I smile despite how sad the question is. She's so alert, so witty in her own way just like Weiss, even if words are hard for her, she notices every little thing. My baby's so clever.

"She better," last night Weiss skipped dinner with us, she didn't mean to, she didn't mean to work at all, but when the Council of Vale calls, you answer. She was on so long, Weiss never even noticed the sunset. Summer didn't mind so much, but Azura hated it. It made me hate it too. "Mom's going to start bullying her hardcore if she doesn't."

"Bullying is b-b-bad."

I ruffle her black hair and grin. It's soft and curls up ever so slightly just like mine. "The worst, you should take me in little huntress." I tickle her tummy and she just barely giggles. I'm so enraptured in her ice blue eyes I nearly miss the patter of feet running not on the living room carpet, but the hard wood of our hallway floors.

"Azura we gotta go!"

I snatch her up and I'm already sprinting out into the livingroom. My semblance would have caught me up in seconds, but then I'd have a hurling toddler on top of my troubles. I've got my own strength and quite the leg span to take me flying over the scattered bits of toys and into the hall. I follow the sounds of shouting passed the dining room, towards the library and then a loud crash.

 _Oh no._

"Summer Schnee, get out of here this instant young lady!"

I'm at the doorway to weisses office, the oak frames swung open by a kick and the children are standing over Schnee seal, branded onto the floorboards. A small bookcase has been knocked over beside them. Like evidence, they've all tossed their weapons aside. Each of kids in different manner of shambles, hair all kicked up by blows to the head with soft foam, clothes shifted from the movement and eyes all wide. Odysseus and Rouge are looking at Summer about what to do next, Summer is just staring. She's in sudden shock at Weiss.

Weiss is her everything. Her roll model of a cool, strong, beautiful, and powerful woman. Weiss her idol, is yelling at her. Even if she deserves it, I can't stomach the look on her face.

"Hey kids, uh come here, I'm so sorry Weiss I was setting the plates and took my eyes off them it's my fault."

Summer deflates whiles the other kids simply follow instructions, leaving their toys behind. Summer's heads down and I wouldn't be surprised if she was crying. Weiss' tired eyes turn soft and her jaw unhinges a little. She's got this mixture of horror and revelation on her face. No one hates the short vengeful temper of Weiss Schnee quite like Weiss Schnee.

"Mrs. Rose, is that uh, you?" a voice from the speakers coughs up and I turn to find a wolf faunus on the screen, one with a familiar beard that slowly turns from gentle ginger to grey over its trail down his chin and a rough face matched with sunburns.

"Oh yes, sorry Mr. Ludus, I totally lost control of the kids. Weiss' secretary is feeling really sick so she offered to look after her kids while she takes a personal day. It's left our hands a little full taking care of everyone. I'm so sorry," I lie as I step into the room and onto his screen.

My hands hand a home on my daughter's back and I can feel her sharp breaths as I rub her back. Mr. Ludus, the current chief of his union grumbles at my explanation, but I can see him smile. Weiss' kindness is as famous as her white hot anger, both things Ludus has, historically, respected.

"I understand, I'm a dad myself. Mrs. Schnee let's take a ten minute recess. I'll need to speak to my consul anyway, you know how I am with legalese."

"Thank you Mr. Ludus," Weiss mumbles and the faunus nods. The center screen vanishes to the background image of the CCT network. This was not how I intended to get the whole family into one room again.

I keep rubbing Summer's back and I can feel her breathing return to a static slow sine wave in and out. Weiss stands, she looks at me, looks at the bookcase, me again, then Summer. The wood flooring groans as she walks passed her cherry wood desk and towards Summer. She stops, whipping her hands on the waistband of her pants trying to get some of her nastiness off.

"Can I get a hug Summer?" Weiss asks in a soft, yet mournfully deep tone. Summer's eyes peek up from her little silver bangs, right at her mother.

"You're not mad?" she asks.

"I'm unbelievably mad, which is why I want a hug."

Summer's slow to walk up, but charges with the last few steps. Weiss is already prepared to lift her up in a tight hug, clutching on for like Summer's holding all of her goodness in her little body and if she drops her, it'll vanish into the void.

"I'm sorry for yelling lovely," she whispers. I think aside from Summer I may be the only one to hear it. It's my queue to enter the fray I think. Soon enough my arms come from behind and were all mangled up, our daughters sandwiched between us.

We spend the next few minutes like that, until Summer's calm again and a little more after that. We only really break up once Odysseus pops his head back into the room. An audience of very confused Arc-Nikos kids is not what we're aiming for.

We put the children down and before long Summer's off with them again, taking Odysseus by the hand to show him her room with Rouge in toe. I sense over the battle the more mellow twin had clicked with her better. Azura followed them this time, the big kids helping her along which put me at extra ease.

The last minute, Weiss spends just with me. I help her brush the easily frayed hair she's so proud of and touch up the creases of her clothes. Again I find myself realigning her tie.

"I've never liked ties. I think I'm going to return to a more dress like fashion for a while. I don't think the more utilitarian clothes really effect Ludus as much as we might have thought, speaking of which." she glares at me while I crease her collar. If side eye could hurt me, Weiss would be a widow by now. "You shouldn't lie to the union head like that."

"No you shouldn't, I'm a huntress not a construction tycoon." I quite like all the things normal old me can do she can't and I never said I was giving _all_ of them up when I married her.

"Ruby," she grumbles like always.

"Relax, just a small fib! And he loved it, really showed how much you care."

"I'm not saying it's ineffective. I just rather rely on an accurate reflection of my merits." Schnee Honor. Cute, but she needs some Rose sneakiness to keep her head above water. That's my job.

"Not like you totally wouldn't do it if she was sick. I don't mind making up stories about how great you are, 'cause I know my Weiss Schnee is even greater."

I can still make her Blush and boy do I take every opportunity to do just that.

"So do you think you'll be finished by the time I drag you out of here kicking and screaming?" I add, combing out one last aggravated angry hair.

"We'll be done," Weiss hand reached for mine and I gave it. Those tired sleep deprived eyes of hers slowly focusing on the TV, on her mission. "I won't disappoint them this time...or you. I promise."

"I know you won't." I kiss her on the forehead leaving her a good luck charm for the negotiations. "You never do."

 ****** wow this took wayyyy longer than I expected and ended up way bigger than I expected. I wanted to do something with them being parents and I kind of forgot to add a conflict until halfway through so it's a bit of a mess so sorry if it didn't appeal to you, (but frankly its 6 AM the day its due so it's not getting a rewrite lol) I set this one in the Summer's Vale AU and I worked on showing kind of the mature side showing how Ruby's outwardly still goofy, but very inwardly mature to help deal with some criticism of her in the first day I got from people. Hope it made a better piece. I actually have tomorrow's entry scar already done so see you then I promise.**

 **Also fans of Summer's Vale may note that Odyssia and Azura are misgendered here (being trans and nonbinary respectively) the reason i stuck with it is the story only works in present tense so Ruby can't have known all that at the time. It was actually weird as hell using Odyssia's dead name so casually but yeah. That's why.**


	4. Chapter 4

**Ruby Rose**

 **Scars (NSFW but not smut)**

.

We're caked in each others sweat and mumbling from pleasure but also plenty of sore aches, a tense neck here, a sore finger, what usually happens when Weiss is feeling intensely passionate. Nights like this where we're happy, a touch tipsy, and hungry for each other can be even a little much for me. Weiss only stops once I've ruined the mood with some sort of crass joke about being the ultimate power bottom, or I just poke her butt to get her off my face (post orgasm of course, I'm no monster). That always makes her jump like a spider bit her right on the ass it kills me every time.

Tonight, my strategy is to pick her up, toss her onto her side of the bed (a double thick premium master because of course Weiss) and then latch on like a squid with a cuddles no woman could ever break out of. She struggles for a minute huffing and trying to pull my arms apart. Fat chance, my hands are linked together by the wrist bitch there is no escape. She's gonna have to get use to a calm night of my nuzzling my face into her neckline like I'm digging for gold, regardless of how wet my lips are or why.

"Quitting already Ruby? You didn't even get a turn, what a wuss," she giggles at herself in satisfaction, catching my eye. Her cheeks are so flush you'd think she was sunburned especially considering the glistening sweat. Cutest part is her hair's in absolute tatters. I can see those white locks splitting in every direction, some standing up at attention from the waves running up her body to the splintered bits that have stuck to her pretty little face, even the single one I can see drift past those pink lips. I should spend a bigger percent of my life locking with those.

"I'm a little sore from practice." I whine into her collar, "and after you messed with me during the party the foreplay kind of did it for me."

"Wow, your semblance really is speed."

"Shut up." I fake slap her, which amounts to me just lightly shoving my hand in her face like an baby. "You are such a bully!"

"Stop being such a joy to bully." I feel fingers graze my tummy and I'm out. My body lurched above her, held up to avoid those little bastards wrath. I did not sign up for tickles. "You're so dumb."

I shut her up myself with little kisses all over her face. She mumbles something close to stop so I just flop down on her. I can feel the air knocked out of her as she groans, my counter assault more deadly than any tickle. Were face to face now, her blue eyes are rolling backwards at me like I'm the dumbest person in the world. I figure I can't be too dumb if I tricked her into marrying me.

"You gonna tickle me again?"

"I should have you thrown out then send you the bill."

I reward her witticism with one more peck on her scar, between some splintered white bits of her wild post sex hair.

"Did you just kiss my eye? What are we, skittish middle schoolers?"

"Nah," I reply staring into the pink little line that jumps over her pretty ice eyes and traces down the line. "I kissed your scar."

"Why?" she asks.

I have a morbid fascination with scars, I want to tell her, but I don't really know how to. She think's I'm already a few wrenches short of a full toolbox already, it'd be worse if I told her how I know all her scars, in alphabetical and chronological. From her eye to those little shallow cuts on her shoulders that got infected so long ago, to the little C-section line nearly lost under the tight ripples of her abs. I hated them in the moment, but I love them in post. Pretty and pink and alive.

"Cause it's cute."

"You have no idea how much I hated that one when I got it. The only saving grace is how much more my dad hated it."

I shift for comfort and reach for that thin red line. My finger meets no resistance when I touch it and Weiss' eyes shut gracefully as I trace down. Down beyond where the lids meet. I fantasize about my finger just magically sealing the rift like a enchanted wielding digit. I think I'd miss it though, it's so integral to the marble artpiece before me.

"You're a weirdo," Weiss continues as I start tracing my index up and down whatever scars are in reach.

"I'm your weirdo." One of my favorites is nearly invisible, a present from a fight with Emerald that's faded and known only to Ruby. It travels down her chest, right onto her left boob. I think I know it now more from memory than from what my eyes can see.

"At least be creative Ruby." Creative huh? Invite chaos and you'll have it. With no intention of starting anything, but just to see her jump, I happily take a detour from a scar to flick her still sensitive nipple.

Your move.

Her reaction is immediate and now I'm pinned on the bed below her. Restored to that power bottom throne of mine. She looks so mad, aroused, and amused at once. I have no regrets about poking this sleeping bear.

"You think it's smart to mess with me little Mrs. Rose?"

"Didn't you say I was dumb?"

She grunts something hot, beastial, and annoyed at me and I just laugh. "I am going to eat you alive," she says.

"Love you too Weiss."

She bites down hard on my neck and I melt away into a harmless puddle. I guess I'll have my own scar for about a four days and I couldn't be happier.

"I'm about to show you how much I love you." She growls into my ear and I'm all excitement and giggles. I guess I was wrong about being out for the count.

"I'm just quaking in my boots Weiss!"

 ***** I honestly always new I wanted to do a post sex scene but that turned into one hell of an ending pfft. This tonally was originally going to be similar to day one but kind of turned into the opposite. It's more a celebration of surviving than a lementation of the past. I'm not a NSFW writer, but I think there is an underutilized amount of fucking around between fucking just to see what will happen that writers don't touch on enough. Anyway next is Proposal/wedding. See you tomorrow!**

 **Edit: I think this might be my favorite now that I'm up to day four.**


	5. Chapter 5

Proposal

Weiss Schnee

I was twenty, she was was turning nineteen in a month. We were way too young, inexperienced, and traumatized. We put the fate of the world to bed, sang it a grizzly lullaby with maiden's powers, and the two of us were left without knowing what was next. I most certainly didn't know, I was swarmed with sudden adulthood, rebuilding a company and a legacy from the ground up in a world so radically different than the one we left it. If the SDC was my brush, I was left the map of the world and my own skittish hands to paint over it all.

Your mom, Ruby, took it differently. She completed her degree early at Beacon. She hunted, but less than you'd think, she was a hero, but more tangible than you'd fear, and she spent quiet nights with me, fewer than I wanted. Most of all she slowed down, which probably seems funny to you, but you didn't know her as a kid the way I did. Now she might seem always moving at double speed, but before Salem fell, she was untouchable, she couldn't afford to be. Maybe she just got a little tired.

Either way, Ruby started going out into nature more, to see the world, not just protect it. She's explore the safe coastline of vale, played in lakes she didn't have time for, slept under trees by beaches in Menagerie, she relaxed. In a way, for that year Ruby got to be a bit of a kid again.

Most of the time, she pushed me to do the same.

I remember after closing a deal with the Vale council to buy up a tract of riverway that would become the first sliver of Roseland, Ruby tore me right from my desk and demanded we go take a weekend to Patch, where she was born and where you'll be going to school soon.

A perfectly safe island where aside from Ruby herself, nothing important ever happened. It was covered in forests and the only grimm one could find were the ever rare beowolf hiding from the eyes of Signal students and staff. Somewhere deep inside the island is a lone two story oak cabin that sits at the center of a still lake filled with sunfish. The only way to the house was a rickety bridge built for no more than two, unless you dared to get soaked and skewered by your mother's traps.

She took me there one weekend, forced me to leave behind a scroll, though Ruby kept, and often hid, hers in case of emergencies. Not that I didn't catch the little minx watching the net while she thought I wouldn't notice.

Ruby told me it was to decompress, I told her it made me want to compress my face into a wall, but she's not one to bend and you know me, always the compromising type.

I kind of spitefully loved it. Don't get me wrong I bitc- I mean complained...No you're too young to be using that kind of lang-...Yes, back to the story. I spitefully started to love it. It was so quiet the first night drove me up and down the wall again. The second day however,, that morning she made me breakfast in the one room kitchen livingroom we called our first floor. She presented an order of, frankly disgustingly, rich waffles with a side of strawberries to complement the maple syrup. We spent the day on the second story balcony, together in a hammock reading a book and watching the sun drift. At dusk we had an early dinner of fish and some lean deer Ruby had hunted herself before I woke up. In the evening we huddled by dying fire side and I watched the lake around us turn black before becoming coated in pokadots of stellar light.

Next to her I could see the stars in any directions.

"So how's today for a waste of time huh?" she was confident despite my weakening protests. When I glared at her she stuffed a fresh marshmallow in my mouth. "Don't be a sourpus and just be honest."

Yes," I managed after barely swallowing the jumbo sized fluff monsters she buys for camping. "I am having fun, is that enough for you?" I naturally lower to near a whisper. When all there is for a soundtrack is rhythmic pops of firewood and the light drips of fish brushing the surface of the lake, you naturally hush yourself.

"Not just happy, I think it's a sign for celebration, cheers." I remember wine coolers of especially low alcohol content. They too tasted like strawberries, refreshingly cold against the fire side heat. "Took me until week two of walking to Mistral till I really started to like camping, having a cabin's so much better."

"You certainly weren't going to get me to sleep on the floor."

"How about in a tree?" Ruby asked, I had a feeling my answer would decide some future trip. "The inside of redwoods can be a fun place to camp out during a rainy night."

I remember thinking hungry wolves would probably agree.

"No thank you, lonely old cabin on an island the size of my thumbnail is about as wild as I feel like getting for my of time." I'd be willing and have done worse on a hunt, but even now you're not going to sell me vacation time sleeping in the dirt.

"Darn, I'll have to think of a new honeymoon destination then," I thought she joked.

"Somewhere with fresh AC, beautiful architecture, some fine dining, and deep taste for culture. I do need to reacquaint you with opera." Years ago, on one of our first dates your mom brought me to perhaps the worst Opera of my life, she's sworn off it for many years. I broke her down a few summers after.

"We could visit old Mistral, I might even, depending on how nice you are during the wedding, let you use.a day to do all your important politicking." I laughed at her as I imagined us bickering in some distant future. I like to think I turned out a bit better than I pictured.

"If I still need the council of Mistal for anything by the time I'm married, I've done something terrible wrong." I-...What?... Oh shush, I did not hurt her feelings with that, she knew what I meant, anyways. I was dreaming of distant what ifs and Ruby then was dreaming of the now. She stood by the fire, spreading out a massive shadow over the lake, tossing one sandy log in and sending a rush of embers dancing about like fire flies. I noticed her then with a backdrop of the galaxy's rings around her.

"Interesting thing to say 'cause uh," she mumbled, and swallowed while she spoke. At the time I was having an internal meltdown. Was she going to do it? Where was the ring? Is she going to kneel? "Weiss I think we should get married."

She didn't do any of that.

"What?" I mumbled as she kept looking down at me, smiling nervously and putting her hands on her hips. Brazen as ever she stood above me not backing down.

"Weiss Schnee, I'd really, really, like to marry you, and I wanted to know if you did too?"

"Are you proposing to me?!" I said in a state of confusion muddled with shock.

"Kind of? Yes, essentially I am."

"Wait where are the rings? Did you even get rings? Wait, did you even prepare for this?"

"Oh yeah totally, that's why I asked you for a vacation."

I'm not going to lie, I did have occasional fantasies about your mom asking me to marry her. Honestly I figured I would have to do it, I love her, but she can be a little finicky about ceremony. I was prepared to never be married even if your mother never felt comfortable with it, but I did not expect her to just ask like a job offer.

"Ruby you're suppose to give me a ring." I was actually so upset at the time that my romantic expectations weren't being met, that for a minute I forgot that the girl of my dreams was asking me to marry her.

"I know, I intend to, but it's on purpose."

"Explain!"

She did. "Weiss, all your life your dad, brother, even your exes and friends used guilt and money to control you, I just don't want to even be like that even a little. If I get you a nice gold ring complete with a diamond that's probably way more than I can afford without your help, set you up on a big public date, do any of the generic stuff, I know part of you is just going to think, 'wow she spent so much money on this.' I know you're not so weak that it'd swing things, but right now, we're on a happy vacation that we could use no matter what you say. There's no price tag for saying no." She paused, sucking in a huge and honestly cooked breath before continuing. I realized then, she was terrified and trying to hide it behind a happy grin. She was deadly serious. "I wanted this choice to be completely, unequivocally free. I want you to know, you have a choice and you don't have to do what I want."

"Weiss, I think we should get married. What do you think?"

She said her piece and smiled patiently at me. She got more confident as I got more emotional, eventually pulling me into a hug. Oh dear did I get emotional. Something about the way her silver eyes kept up this happy gleam, that made me cry. I felt such relief, I felt so understood, I…..did I say yes? I mean eventually, you do exist after all! I suppose no, not immediately, I told her we should wait till we get a little older, but I then changed my mind later that night after some self-indulgent day dreaming I-…. The point?

 _The point being_ , true romance comes from insight. Not giving me a ring, or throwing a big party, or asking in front of the family, that would be the sweetest proof of trust and respect she could give. The sentiment of truly understanding my emotions and fears shines brighter than gold…..well of course we got rings after it…..No that does not ruin the point of the story Summer! We waited till after I said yes to….the whole point was she trusted me not to get mad at her….yes, now I am getting very mad!... Why? You're really asking me why? You're saying my proposal sucked thats why, it was cute you just don't know a good story…. You read too many romance novels it's inflating your expectations!

 ****** Okay so I don't know if this was any good because I tried to do it at like someone telling the story to someone else. It was very experimental and who knows maybe its a flop but it was definitely an interesting addition. I guess it's technically in the Summer's Vale A.U, but who knows! Next week is Modern A.U. and I still am torn on a number of different ways to take it. Wish me luck and see you tomorrow.**


	6. Chapter 6

**Modern A.U.**

 **Ruby Rose**

Her shows haven't changed much, but tonight she plays harder than I've ever seen. From stage right hidden by the curtains snuck snug against wires I can see the sweat pooling on her monochrome graphic T, the white snowflake is glued to her chest as she melts through an intense final solo. She's singing between sobs with an emotional twist that has me quaking. The crowd eats up her accent and the sobs between her words.

For a small act that only found a home in The Signal, in the already saturated Miami scene, Weiss had her crowd and they packed the small stage to see her one last time, hear that voice ring before it leaves us forever. I'm not the only one that's going to cry her eyes out tonight.

I'm keeping my hands plenty busy while she's filling my ears up to the brim with her tunes. I've got my own skills, immortalizing her in cheap ass canvas with charcoal. I already blasted her last three songs with pictures, but I want two sketches to share and I almost run out of time.

I get the shading just barely right by the time she finishes her set, I have my hard evidence that my German idol was ever real.

"Thank you Miami, you've been a wonderful two years!" She shouts toward the crowd, but looks at me. I flash her a thumbs up, and she smiles back. I don't know if Weiss Schnee ever needed a confidence boost in her life, but it worked. Despite her obvious tears, her chin's high and she bows with an elegance you wouldn't picture on something as hard as a poor man's, punk rock star.

"Your sketches make me look fat," Weiss complains as we talk down the broken sidewalk of Patch Street. It's on the nicer side of Little Havana and I'm pretty sure Yang's packing more than cigarettes and keys to the guitar case in her jacket so I'm not afraid of walking home.

"If my sketches make you look fat to you, it's 'cause you are." Of course she isn't, not that I'd care if she was. It's not her waist that defines why I'm so absolutely in love with her.

She rewards my joke with a sharp elbow to the stomach and I cough out a laugh.

"You're suppose to inflate my ego, Ruby."

"Nah, after a show like that, you got all the ego you need," she raises an eyebrow at me, "What I mean is, Weiss you were fantastic up there, I know it, Yang knows it-"

"Yep!" Yang interrupts from ten feet ahead, her fingers bouncing off the metal fencing that protects every house's yard in this part of town.

"And you sure as heck know it. You had them dancing in your hands it was perfect. Blake got the whole show recorded. We'll uh," my throat dries up as Weiss looks back at me with an unassuming flat stare, "We'll email it to you, if you want it."

"I do." Weiss turns back around and starts speeding up ahead of me behind my sister. "Yang, I'm still in the clear to stay over tonight."

"Shit, your bags are at the house at this point if Dad changes his mind I'll tell him to fuck off. Honestly so long as you're safe I'll make sure the two of you can, uh _cuddle_ , all you want before you leave. It's your last day Weiss. I got your back."

Weiss didn't want that anymore and slowed down. Anytime anyone brought up even the smell of what might be the Elephant in the room she's suddenly stand offish. She catches up to me and I suppose I'm her favorite of the people she really wishes would shut up.

"So what do you wanna do tonight Weiss? I'm prepared to party all night or sleep in. I can make croquettes and bananas too if you wanna stuff your face after a show like that."

"I'm far too wired for sleep, end of story." She slithers her arm around mine. She's still sweaty, but I kind of love it in a sick way. "Can you make me those fried plantains?"

"Platanos, and yeah, I'd love to."

"So what are you most looking forward to?" I ask Weiss as we shove food in our mouths with shocking ferocity. Platanos turned into a full meal with pork, black beans and rice freshly made for her, for the last time. Mom even helped, she could tell I was struggling, both with food and life right now.

"Better soup and bread bowls," Weiss mumbled between bites. Her moods improved I think in no small part to being in my room. My beds big and comfy and my walls are covered in art from what I've jokingly referred to as my "red" period. "And not shitty alcohol." Weiss punctuates that by sucking on a corona, I swear my dad only buys them to feel more spanish in front of mom. I don't know how to break it to him that an obviously asian, surfer boy with dyed, blonde hair sure isn't going to fool anyone.

"What the local Panera's not good enough for you?"

"America's not good enough for me," she jokes.

"Good thing you're leaving then." I don't catch myself before I force feed my foot into my face.

Weiss shoves another plantain in her mouth and chews on her frustration. She's so stern, but expressive. I can't believe I use to find her impossible to read, now that pale face, all her sharp features, it's like a road map to me.

"Sorry," I mumble, brushing a few strands of silver hair out of her face. She hated Miami, the way it cooked you alive, but was so humid that sweating just left you soaked and stewing. She hated the mosquitos, how little her masterful english helped in such a spanish city. She use to hate the food and I know she hated our school.

However, she never hated her band, her fans, or me. I've never had the courage to ask if she really had a choice, would we be worth staying in this humid soup and not going back to germany?

She tilts into my fingers and soon her heads resting on my shoulders.

"Blunder is your natural state of being," she chastises, "All is forgiven."

I slide my hand into hers and brush against her callous finger tips, hard from the playing. I know what I want. I want to stay just like this, forever.

"Will you come to the airport with me?" she whispers, her frown cresting in defeat. I got to keep together, keep chipper.

"Heck yeah!" I kick up to my feet and give her my biggest grin. "I got a bag all packed."

I slide the beat up old backpack I've used for years, the whole things basically relying on convention buttons and my stitched on rose patterns to hold it together. "I got all the stuff I need, packed us snacks, some chips and whatever. I'm going to grab us two Jupiñas on the way out. I'm bringing my anxiety meds and hormones just in case we're stuck in traffic for too long on the way back, and I even brought my sketch pad and 3ds. I'm going to wait at security in case something happens until the flight leaves." I've dumped all the goods out before her and I finally look up to smile at her. Weiss stares hard at me, cold if I didn't notice her fighting back tears.

"Wow, you've really prepared for this. You're really ready to let me go aren't you?" No, but I don't have a choice. When we started it was with the knowledge this wasn't forever. Long distance wasn't happening, Weiss got burned by both ex boy and girlfriends before. We'd keep in contact, skype all the time. I didn't think we'd stop being in love, just stop being together.

"I uh, I got something for you I think you're going to adore." I'm weeping. When did that start? How do I sound so happy while I'm crying. "Here I bought them, but I did some work to customize it." I open a chest full of guitar picks. Five in total with different designs carved into the material. One a flaming yellow heart, another a nightingale flower in black, my usual red petal symbol on one, her snowflake on another. The last, my center piece had finally carved combo of her snowflake entrapped in white roses turning red.

She liked snowflakes, I liked roses, we liked being together. I thought it was perfect.

"Ruby…" she took the box from me and poked at the little picks. I worried with how often picks get lost that this gift was about as impermanent as our relationship. "I love them… can I use them?"

"Of course, I brought them to Haven's and the guys there said the designs didn't mess with the playing too much. I wanted it to be practical."

"Thank you," she slides close to me, her hand sliding up against my cheek. "My idiot girlfriend, how will I ever find someone half as good again?" I'm blushing wildly as she begins to slide into my lap, it's the only time she's ever taller than me, staring down at my eyes, my mouth.

"I want to leave you my guitar, I know you don't play, but it's special, I want you to have it." Weiss' hands shake as she holds my face and keeps me looking at her.

"Don't you need it to play?"

She slides in real close and whispers the words right on my lips.

"Looks like you'll have to give it back one day."

 ***** omg this A.U. has been changed so much, like in the original version Ruby was going to be a bartender at a strip club and most of it was going to be them shooting the shit about the ways their parents are probably disappointed and laughing about it. Eventually the story came into being an angsty departure. Even then I shaved a lot of stuff off the sides like originally there was going to be more talking after the show and more about like the four girls connection, the band, ruby's life but I realized none of that was important to the core of this short so I cut tit (also because I had like 3 hours to make this a thing) I still hint at a bunch of little character details, but I think it's better slimmer. Well I'll see you tomorrow than with Reunion as White Rose week comes to a close!**


	7. Chapter 7

**Reunion**

 **Weiss Schnee**

I like to end on love songs now. I find the sweeter and gentler beat of a ballad is good for easing a crowd out of a show, if you could call it a show. The Beacon has been kind to me, going to far as to keep me now that I've begun shifting in and out of the punk scene, but it's not a large venue. It's just a double bar with a sizable dance floor and a cramped stage. I've become a star for tens of people instead of a few hundred. I don't mind so much. I can see their faces at the stages and their smiles and sighing expressions blurred into one another while they think the song is just especially for them. Playing for me is sending signals from my heart into the void outside, and watching just ten people dance and forty people listen feels like being heard more than sitting still for sure. It's part of the shared illusion of music, the conversation between my playing and the crowd.

"Thank you so much for tonight, you've all been awesome," I announce to the audience switching from my singing English to my native German as our song is sunset; (Though our bassist Flynt continues to play softly to accent our finishing statement, he's always hogging as much stage time as possible.) "You can catch me and the rest of Atlas here every Sunday. We are always selling CD's at the bar and you can find us on amazon, thank you very much!"

Enough people clap for us as we bow that I think we might just sell a disc or two tonight. We pass the more popular act, Mistral on our say to the green room, their vocalist Pyrrha smiles at me and we high five on the way out, sending each other silent support. I remember when I first started playing her, she fangirled remembering me from my shitty live videos on youtube Blake use to shoot me. I was mortified when I watched her play for the first time, her band kept perfectly right on the line between punk's smoother vocals and the more complex compositions of metal. She just had that voice that could tie it on all.

Of course she disagreed. Pyrrha constantly claimed my voice just hit the notes she only dreamed of, and maybe it did, but I just didn't have the same magic. I might have hated her five years ago, but I remembered what Ruby taught me: Be inspired by the talents of others, not jealous. It's not natural for me, but I'm friends with Pyrrha now, not rivals… So I guess I should thank her for that.

I'm already checking my phone when I get into the green room. A message from Emerald about an afterparty, another from Yang saying Ruby's fine. None from the girl herself, not for the last week. I can only guess she's tired of having my ghost around to hurt her all the time. I take in a deep breath and swallow down that consuming black weight of loneliness. _You're fine Weiss._

This is why I never do long distance.

"Good stage work out there Schnee," Flynt pulls my attention away from the digital to the corporeal. He's waiting for a handshake and I give it right away.

"Excellent playing Flynt." Now he's more my rival within the band. He's talented as hell and combined we in a very formal and cooperatively way, battle it out for the centerpiece of the band. Still it's a sort of respect, even if it keeps us from being real friends. It hasn't shattered band unity yet.

"Howdy Weiss." After two years of it, I no longer jerk violently when Penny, our drummer, gets uncomfortably close beside me on the green room couch. She's hovering just over my shoulder and if you don't really know Penny you might think she might be a flirting creeper. Those people haven't seen how flustered she gets around Ceil, her real girlfriend. Penny's just harmless and sweet. "Things going alright? You seem real sad?"

"I am just fine," I lie. "It's an old problem that's just came back to bite me. I'm happy how the show went."

"Hmm." Penny kicks her legs as the stage hands I hired are packing up my stuff. I miss Yang's muscle when it comes to stuff like this, she was so much cheaper. My grad school budget is getting stretched along with my dad's patience. "Is it Ruby?"

"I uh," she knows the basics, too much actually. She's a hopeless romantic and eat up the whole torn apart lovers narrative. She even started talking to Ruby separately. I can never seem to get it through to Penny that our relationships been dashed by fate. If I want dad to pay for school, I have to live with him. The same problem that brought me to Ruby took me away. his work. "We broke up years ago Penny."

"That's not a no." She giggles at herself and drums her fingers along her thighs. "I really wish you were. I'd be so fun, we could go on double dates. _Unless_ , oh you didn't get into a fight did you?"

My jaw unhinges a second and I think to say something, but Mercury walks in, one of our hands, probably asking about my guitar. "Hey Weiss, you got a fan that wants you?"

"You can send him in," I have about five fans in the world that don't know me persona, I should be grateful to sign whatever they want. "Penny if she was actually able to go out on dates with me do you think I would have broken up with her?" Like hell I would. I haven't been able to get over her. I tried dates, I tried sex, I tried...in my least proud moment, ghosting her for about two weeks. Nothing feels like anything anymore. I left joy back with my guitar.

"Planes exist and you won't be going to grad school forever. Maybe when you make it big she can be your groupie." Penny laughs squeezing my knee. She's got such small hands for such a hard drummer. It makes me miss Ruby's larger sturdy hands, so daft and precise from her art. I look to Penny and her eyes are elsewhere. "Howdy Ruby!"

My resting heart beat is zero. I recognize a red hoodie matched with black skirt that goes passed her stubby legs, only a little taller than mine. She wouldn't be able to grow anymore so her shoulders are left right where I remember them. If I built her piece by piece from memory, I'd have this girl smiling at me. Maybe a little bit shorter hair.

"Hi Weiss," she says to me in a hushed voice with that accent I haven't heard outside cell speakers for two years. She holds up a guitar case. It's black and has the old snowflake logo from my last band. "I brought it back."

* * *

I skipped the party. Skipped anyone else who might have wanted a signing and grabbed Ruby. The three of us meant to hide away in a 24/7 diner, but somewhere between us and the Mantle cafe and restaurant, Penny slinked off as quietly as ever. I wanted to strangle her. Now I was alone with Ruby. Now I didn't know what to say, how to act, what to be with her. She wanted it to be a surprise. I'm surprised.

"You're not mad are you?" she asks once we finally arrives. I've retreated to my oldest comfort, music. I'm retuning my now disgusting sounding guitar. There is plenty of room and I'm thankful the diners deserted.

"No," I say to her from across our circular booth. It's the truth. "I'm happy to see you."

"'Cause you seem kind of mad."

"I'm not." I'm just...scared.

"I saw your show!" She says after a moment or two passes, "You looked great out there. It's incredible how much you changed your sound." I smile and I know I look smug, I always do when I'm happy.

"I need to improve, I've got the technicals, but the music lacks the emotional feel I want."

"I felt it," she say and slides around the curve just a little closer, maybe not even on purpose. "Especially the last one, the ballad. It sounded so sad. I'm kind of surprised you ended on it. Not the most Punk thing in the world, but pretty."

"It's about doomed love, it's suppose to be sad." I roll my eyes at her in disgust. The most potent musical emotions for my voice are lement and loneliness. It's my best talent in harmonious communication.

"I notice you're using the pick I got you."

That makes me blush. I've kept each five and used them. The paint on the tips of most of them have worn away by now. The during practice I use the gold heart for Acoustic, Black nightingale for electric. If we're doing group practice or recording, it's the snowflake. If I'm writing music, or building rifts, it's the rose. If I'm on stage….

"You used the red and white one. I can tell it's the most godie, overly busy design I ever made. I am such a sap," She tells me as she collapses forward towards me, her head down on the table and looking up to me with those beautiful silver eyes.

"It's my favorite." I love my picks. "You said you want to give me something I would use."

"I'm just happy you care enough to still use them." I don't notice, but I've started to shift towards her. I stop strumming, and slowly, with such careful and cautious hands. I rub her back. It feels so warm. I miss the touch.

"More than you know," I lick my lips. "Why did you come here already?"

"I could afford it." She laughs and sits back up, scooching ever closer in the process. "I've been saving for a while… I know I wasn't suppose to and I didn't go without, but I wanted to come. Passport says I got 60 days, all depends on if I can afford them." Ruby's giggling again. "Joking, I'd never bug you that much I'll be gone when you're bored of me."

My visions gaining an intense focus on her while everything else blurs. My chest feels empty in the same way my stomach does when it's starving. "Are you dating anyone Ruby?" I ask on autopilot.

"Nah," she blushes, "I'm not like a supermodel and honestly… I haven't felt like trying to date anyone else. What about you?"

"I can't," I whisper a giddy smile on my face. The last of my moral block is all gone. "No matter where I am, what I'm doing, who I try to be, I just can't seem to," my breath is hot even on my own lips, I feel so thirsty, so hungry, so out of control. I feel my blood surging and I feel like it's fate. "be anything, but in love with you."

Two years later, I'm still ending on her lips.

 ******* wow okay I legit am down to the wire on this, but I finished right in time. I just wanted everyone to know this ending was directed at just the army of amazing work people put out. So many worlds and A.U.s and art and just a billion different configuration and it's always these two right in love one way or another. Thank you everyone who was a part of this. You're all amazing and I'm so proud to work with you all. And Thank Heart for bringing us all together. This was thrown together in a few hours so forgive it any of its bad quarks and let me know how you liked it! Thanks everyone!**


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